JPH09284871A - Remote control transmitter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a remote control transmitter having a direction control function thin in thickness, light in weight and low in cost while keeping excellent key operability. SOLUTION: Key contacts 34 are formed to a printed circuit board 33 and a carbon contact key sheet 35 having carbon contacts 36 corresponding to the key contacts 34 is adhered to the printed circuit board 33. Then a direction control key 37 whose position corresponds to the carbon contacts 36 is formed integrally with a cabinet 31 and an operation dome sheet 45 is adhered to the direction control key 37 to constitute a flat direction control switch.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote control transmitter and, more particularly, to a remote control transmitter for car navigation having an 8-direction or 16-direction control switch.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the prior art, the screen search of a car navigation monitor is supported by an attached remote control transmitter equipped with 8-direction or 16-direction control switches. FIG. 6 shows a typical external appearance, structure, and circuit of a remote control transmitter with an eight-direction control switch in the related art.

FIG. 6 (a) is a plan view showing the appearance of a remote control transmitter, and FIG. 6 (b) is a partially cutaway sectional view thereof.
In FIG. 6, 1 is a cabinet and 2 is a cabinet 1.
The detail button placed on the top, 3 is also the wide area button, 4
Is a menu button, 5 is a GPS button, 6 is a mark button, 7 is a point plus button, 8 is a point minus button, 9 is a power button, 10 is an infrared transmitter provided on the front end face of the cabinet 1, and 11 is an inside. A printed wiring board provided, 12 is a joystick type direction control switch mounted on the printed wiring board 11, and 12a is a switch knob extending from the direction control switch 12 to an upper portion as an operation lever. The shaft of the switch knob 12a penetrates a through hole 13 provided in the cabinet 1. The peripheral portion of the through hole 13 is a direction indicating mark printing section 14 in which the cabinet 1 is formed in a dome shape. The direction indicating mark printing section 14 has symbols indicating four directions of up, down, left and right and four diagonal directions. It is printed.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of a main circuit portion of a conventional remote control transmitter. In FIG. 7, 1
Reference numeral 5 is a remote control transmission controller composed of an IC,
6 is an oscillation circuit, 17 is a reset circuit, 18 is an infrared LED
The infrared LED drive circuit 18 is a drive circuit.
The drive transistor 19 connected to the REM terminal of the remote controller transmission controller 15 and the transistor 1
It is composed of a light emitting diode (LED) 20 which is turned on and off by turning on and off 9 and emits infrared data. Reference numeral 21 denotes contacts 2a-9 corresponding to the detailed button 2, wide area button 3, menu button 4, GPS button 5, mark button 6, point plus button 7, point minus button 8 and power button 9, respectively.
a key matrix circuit having a, 22 is a key input line connected to one end of each contact of the key matrix circuit 21 and connected to the input ports KI _{1 to} KI ₄ of the remote controller transmission controller 15, and 23 is a key matrix circuit 21 It is a key scan line connected to the other end of each contact and each contact of the direction control switch 12 and to the scan ports KO _{1 to} KO ₅ of the remote controller transmission controller 15.

Next, the operation of the conventional remote control transmitter constructed as described above will be described. In the normal state, each scan port KO ₁ of the remote controller transmission controller 15
All the KO ₅ transistors are in the ON state. Now, one of the buttons 2 to 9 on the cabinet 1 is turned on, and the key matrix circuit 21
If the corresponding contact is turned on, an input occurs at any of the input ports KI _{1 to} KI ₄ , and the remote controller transmission controller 15 turns off all the transistors of the scan ports KO _{1 to} KO ₅ once. Then, in order to check which button has been pressed, the remote controller transmission controller 15 uses the sequential scan ports KO _1- .
Start the scan operation from KO ₅ . First, turn on the transistor of scan port KO ₁ and input port K
It reads the state of the I ₁ ~KI _4, to check whether or not there is an input to either. Any input port KI ₁ ~
If there is no input to KI ₄ , it is determined that none of the contacts connected to the line of scan port KO ₁ is turned on. In this way, the sequential scan port K
Scan O ₁ → KO ₂ → KO ₃ → KO ₄ → KO ₅ . In the cabinet 1, for example, when the detail button 2 is pressed, the corresponding contact 2a in the key matrix circuit 21 is ON, but when the scan port KO ₄ outputs, the input port KI ₁ has an input. The remote control transmission controller 15 can determine that the detail button 2 is pressed.

When the remote control transmission controller 15 determines which button is pressed by such a scan, the oscillation circuit 16 starts oscillating, and data specific to the button is transmitted from the REM terminal to the infrared LED drive circuit 1.
8 to drive the drive transistor 19 of the infrared LED drive circuit 18 to emit infrared data from the light emitting diode 20. The infrared data is repeatedly transmitted at a constant cycle (several tens of ms) while the button is pressed. On the main body side of the car navigation device, control based on the received infrared data is performed.

On the other hand, when the cursor is moved on the display of the body of the car navigation system, the switch knob 12a of the direction control switch 12 mounted on the printed wiring board 11 and the symbol of the direction indication mark printing section 14 are used as indexes. As a result, the corresponding contact in the direction control switch 12 shown in FIG. 7 is turned on by tilting it with the thumb toward the symbol side in the desired direction. Each contact of the direction control switch 12 is connected to the key input line 22 and the key scan line 23 of the key matrix circuit 21 of the remote controller transmission controller 15, and when the contacts are turned on or short-circuited, the oscillation circuit 16 is oscillated. Start and RE specific data for that direction
The infrared data is sent from the M terminal to the infrared LED drive circuit 18, the drive transistor 19 of the infrared LED drive circuit 18 is driven, and the infrared data indicating the direction is emitted from the light emitting diode 20. On the display on the main body side of the car navigation device, cursor movement control based on infrared data indicating the received direction is performed. For example, when the direction control switch 12 is tilted in the direction of the symbol “Δ”, the scan port KO ₁ and the input port KI ₁ are brought into conduction, the remote controller transmission controller 15 generates upward direction data, and the infrared LED drive circuit. Sent via 18. The infrared direction data is repeatedly transmitted at a constant cycle (several tens of ms) while the direction control switch 12 is tilted in that direction. When the switch knob 12a is pushed down, the execution contact of the direction control switch 12 is turned on, the scan port KO ₃ and the input port KI ₁ are brought into conduction, and the execution process is performed on the main body side of the car navigation device.

Switch knob 1 for moving the cursor
When changing 2a from the tilted direction to the other direction, release your thumb once to return the switch knob 12a to the neutral position, and then tilt it in the other direction or move it to another direction in the tilted state. Do you want to orbit. When the circuit is rotated, the contacts of the direction control switch 12 are turned on one after another.
The state is changed to the N state, and the corresponding direction data is continuously transmitted.

The pattern of the contacts 12b inside the direction control switch 12 is as shown in FIG.
They are placed close to each other. Therefore, when the short-circuited state of one contact is changed to the short-circuited state of the adjacent contact during the circling operation, there is a time delay, that is, an intermittent state in which none of the contacts 12b is turned on from one direction to the next. It does not occur, nor does a double short-circuit condition in which the two contacts 12b, 12b are simultaneously contacted. This is an advantage of the joystick type directional control switch.

[0010]

However, in the prior art, since the large special directional control switch 12 mounted on the printed wiring board 11 for directional control is used as described above, the parts themselves. There is a problem that costs such as the material cost and the work cost for installation are high. Further, since a large joystick type directional control switch must be used, there is a problem in that it cannot be structurally made thin and lightweight.

It is an object of the present invention to reduce the cost and make the remote control transmitter with such a direction control function thinner and lighter while having the same key operability as in the prior art.

[0012]

A remote control transmitter having a direction control function according to a first aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of direction control keys arranged in an annular shape are integrated with a cabinet. There is. The direction control switch consisting of a plurality of ring-shaped direction control keys is flattened, and has the same directional control operability as the conventional one, including the orbiting operation, compared to the conventional joystick type direction control switch that projects greatly. It is possible to reduce the cost and reduce the thickness and weight.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a remote control transmitter having a direction control function is characterized in that, in the first aspect, an annular dome-shaped operation sheet is attached on a plurality of annular direction control keys. I am trying. You can operate smoothly because you operate your finger around the operation sheet.

A remote control transmitter having a direction control function according to a third aspect of the present invention is the remote control transmitter according to the first aspect or the second aspect, wherein when the double-pressed state is detected, the transmission data corresponding to the immediately previous transmission data is transmitted. It is characterized in that it is configured to transmit. Although the direction control switch is flat and the two key contacts may be turned on at the same time when moving from one direction to the next during the orbiting operation, even in this case, the transmission data immediately before is given priority. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a malfunction during the orbiting operation.

A remote control transmitter having a direction control function according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the remote control transmitter according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein when the key contact is turned off during the orbiting operation, a certain period of time is maintained. It is characterized by extending the output of transmission data. The direction control switch is flat, and any key contact is turned off when moving from one direction to the next during orbiting operation.
However, even in this case, since the transmission data is continuously output, it is possible to prevent the transmission data from being interrupted and intermittent during the circling operation.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A remote control transmitter according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.
This remote control transmitter is for a car navigation device.

FIG. 1 shows a part of a remote control transmitter divided into four layers in the vertical direction. FIG. 1 (a) is a partial plan view of a printed wiring board, and FIG. 1 (b) is a sheet with carbon contacts. 1 (c) is a partial plan view of the direction control key, and FIG. 1 (d) is a partial plan view of the operation sheet on the upper surface of the cabinet. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA ′ in FIG. 1D, and FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a portion of the operation sheet.

In these figures, 31 is a cabinet of a remote control transmitter, 32 is an infrared transmitter provided on the front end surface of the cabinet 31, 33 is a printed wiring board provided inside the cabinet 31, and 34 is a printed wiring board. A key contact (a pair of contacts are opposed to each other) formed on the circumference of the circle 33 with a relatively large space, 34a is an execution key contact formed in the center thereof, and 35 is the plurality of keys. The key sheet with carbon contacts has carbon contacts 36, 36a corresponding to the positions of the contacts 34, 34a. The key sheet with carbon contacts 35 is attached to the printed wiring board 33. Reference numeral 37 denotes a direction control key which is formed in the upper plate portion of the cabinet 31 at regular intervals in the circumferential direction by forming grooves 38 in the shape of corners C at equal intervals in the circumferential direction.
Reference numeral 39 denotes a disc portion remaining in the central portion as a result of the formation of the plurality of grooves 38, and 40 denotes approximately 36 portions formed in the central portion of the disc portion 39.
An arc groove smaller than 0 °, 41 is an execution control key left inside the arc groove 40, 42 is a neck portion connecting the direction control key 37 and the cabinet 31, 4
3 is a neck portion connecting the execution control key 41 and the disc portion 39, and 44 is an elongated beam portion connecting the disc portion 39 and the cabinet 31. Reference numeral 45 denotes an operation sheet having a concentric circular dome attached to the cabinet 31 on the upper side thereof in correspondence with the direction control key 37 and the execution control key 41. Two diagonal directions and symbols indicating execution are printed. This operation sheet 45
Is provided as a guide when operating the direction control and so that the finger can be smoothly moved when the thumb is slid to continuously operate the keys.
In the direction control key 37 and the execution control key 41, the neck portions 42 and 43 are thinner than the cabinet 31 in other portions so that they have elasticity when pressed. In the operation sheet 45, the dome portion 45 corresponding to the central execution control key 41
“A” has a smooth curve and rises like a small mountain, and the annular dome portion 45b corresponding to the direction control key 37 around it has a smooth curve and rises like a small mountain range. The flat direction control switch 50 of the present embodiment is configured with the above configuration.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of main circuit parts of the remote control transmitter according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 51 is a remote control transmission controller composed of an IC, and 52 is a detail button 2, wide area button 3, menu button 4, GPS button 5, mark button 6 of FIG. , A point plus button 7, a point minus button 8, and a power button 9, respectively, a key matrix circuit having contacts 2a to 9a, 53 is a key matrix circuit including the key contacts 34 and 34a of FIG. 1A, and 54 is a key. Matrix circuit 52
, A key input line connected to one end of each contact of the remote controller transmission controller 51 and connected to the input ports KI _{1 to} KI ₄ of the remote control transmission controller 51, 55 is the other end of each contact of the key matrix circuit 52 and each key of the key matrix circuit 53. Key scan lines connected to the contacts and to the scan ports KO _{1 to} KO ₅ of the remote controller transmission controller 51.

Other configurations may be the same as those in the conventional technique.

The operation of designating the direction with the flat direction control switch 50 is performed by pressing the portion of the operation sheet 45 in the desired direction with the thumb on the annular dome portion 45b. The direction control key 37 under the pressed portion is elastically lowered, and the corresponding carbon contact 36 of the key sheet with carbon contact 35 is brought into contact with the corresponding key contact 34 on the printed wiring board 33. Is made conductive. As a result, by the same operation as described in the related art, the direction data of the designated direction is emitted from the infrared transmitter 32. When the user presses the annular dome portion 45b of the operation sheet 45 with his / her thumb while sliding it in a circular manner, the key contact 34 which is in a conductive state moves annularly, and the direction of the direction data emitted from the infrared transmitter 32 also annularly. Change. Since the annular dome portion 45b is raised with a smooth curve, the sliding operation of the thumb on the dome portion 45b can be performed smoothly. If the operation sheet 45 is not provided, the direction control key 37 will be pressed directly with the thumb, but this will not allow the orbiting operation to be performed smoothly.

In the case of the present embodiment, since the direction control key 37 is constituted by the flat direction control switch 50 integrated with the cabinet 31, the direction control switch 12 of the joystick type in the case of the prior art is used. In comparison, the remote control transmitter can be made slimmer, lighter and less expensive.

By the way, in the case of the flat directional control switch 50 of the present embodiment, due to its structure, at the time of continuous key operation such as circular slide, which key is pressed from one direction to the next. The intermittent state in which the contact 34 is not turned on (infrared data is not output from the infrared transmitting unit 32 and an operational time delay occurs in the car navigation device), and the state in which the key contacts 34 in the two directions are simultaneously turned on are Infrared data will not be output normally. Therefore, this inconvenience is solved as follows.

FIG. 5 is an example of a flowchart of a program added in the program regarding the direction control key of the microcomputer in the remote control transmission controller 51 formed of an IC inside the remote control transmitter in order to solve the above inconvenience.

The operation of FIG. 5 is started by interruption by a key input, and it is judged in step S1 whether or not it is a double press. If it is not a double press, a normal processing routine is carried out. In S2, it is determined whether or not they are in the directions adjacent to each other. If they are double-pressed and they are not adjacent to each other, nothing is done and the process returns to step S1. If it is determined in step S2 that the double pushes are adjacent to each other, it is determined that the operation at that time is the circular operation, and in step S3, the immediately previous transmission data is transmitted in either of the two directions in which it is currently pressed. It is determined whether or not the data matches, and if they match, the matching original transmission data is continuously transmitted in step S4. If they do not match, it is considered that the two key contacts 34 are accidentally turned ON when the button is pressed once rather than in the revolving operation, and the transmission data in the oblique direction is transmitted in step S5. It is easy to perform the operation in the up, down, left, and right directions, but it is difficult to perform the operation in the oblique direction in order to give priority to the oblique direction. Therefore, it is the result of accidentally turning on the adjacent upper, lower, left, or right key contact 34 when an operation was performed in a diagonal direction when the key was double-pressed. This is because there is a high possibility that it was an operation.

In step S6, it is determined whether the key contact 34 has returned to OFF. In the case of the flat direction control switch 50, a plurality of key contacts 3 arranged in an annular shape
Since 4 is relatively far apart in the circumferential direction, the key contact 34 may be temporarily turned off during the orbiting operation. Therefore, in step S7, the transmission data in the direction corresponding to the key contact 34, which has been ON until then, is output extended for a fixed time (in the example, one frame of the transmission data).
This fills the momentary intermittent state during the orbiting operation.

[0027]

According to the remote control transmitter of the first aspect of the present invention, since the direction control switch composed of a plurality of annular direction control keys is flat, it is a conventional joystick type direction control switch that projects greatly. In comparison, while having the same directional control operability as the conventional one including the orbiting operation, it is possible to reduce the cost and to make the device thinner and lighter.

According to the remote controller transmitter of the second aspect of the present invention, the presence of the annular dome-shaped operation sheet attached on the annular plural direction control keys makes the orbiting operation by the finger smooth. be able to.

According to the remote control transmitter of the third aspect of the present invention, the direction control switch is flat and the two key contacts are simultaneously turned on when moving from one direction to the next direction during the orbiting operation. Even if a double press occurs, the immediately preceding transmission data is given priority and is output, so that it is possible to prevent a malfunction during a circular operation.

According to the remote control transmitter of claim 4 of the present invention, the direction control switch is flat, and any key contact is turned off when moving from one direction to the next direction during the orbiting operation. However, even in this case, since the transmission data is continuously output even in this case, it is possible to prevent the transmission data from being interrupted and intermittent during the circling operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a hierarchical diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a remote control transmitter for a car navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA ′ in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a portion of the operation sheet according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a circuit showing a configuration of a main circuit unit of the remote control transmitter according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the remote control transmitter according to the embodiment.

6A and 6B are a plan view and a partially cutaway sectional view showing an appearance of a remote control transmitter with an 8-direction control switch according to a conventional technique.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of a main circuit unit of a conventional remote control transmitter.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a contact pattern inside a conventional remote control transmitter.

[Explanation of symbols]

 31 ... Cabinet 32 ... Infrared transmitter 33 ... Printed wiring board 34 ... Key contact 34a ... Execution key contact 35 ... Carbon sheet with carbon contact 36 ... Carbon contact 37 ... Direction control key 41 ... Execution Control key 45 …… Operation sheet 50 …… Flat direction control switch 51 …… Remote control transmission controller 52 …… Key matrix circuit 53 …… Key matrix circuit 54 …… Key input line 55 …… Key scan line

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A remote control transmitter having a direction control function, wherein a plurality of ring-shaped direction control keys are integrated with a cabinet. 2. The remote control transmitter according to claim 1, wherein the remote control transmitter has a direction control function, and an annular dome-shaped operation sheet is pasted on a plurality of annular direction control keys. Machine. 3. A remote control transmitter having a direction control function, wherein when a double-pressed state is detected, the transmission data that matches the previous transmission data is transmitted. The remote control transmitter according to claim 1 or claim 2. 4. A remote control transmitter having a direction control function, wherein when the key contact is turned off during a circular operation, the output of the transmission data is extended for a certain period of time. The remote control transmitter according to any one of 3 to 3.